Could've Been Anybody
by Satan Abraham
Summary: When another crusader/noble comes back from the Holy Land, he decides to start an outlaw band of his own. This gang consists of a few unlikely people...and can they live up to the famous Robin Hood?
1. Home At Last

I know I've put a whole lot of stuff on fanfiction today, but I've had all those oneshots written for ages, and I already have the second chapter almost finished on this one.

Note: All of these events are happening at the same time. This chapter is pretty much just introducing you to the main characters: Collin of Clunn, Michael Dark, Artemis A'Dale, and Kace.

XxX

Chapter One—Home At Last

Collin of Clunn sighed with happiness as he stepped onto English soil. He was home. At last. He was also alone, but the Sheriff of Nottingham was supposed to be sending an armed escort.

Not that Collin _wanted _an armed escort. He was happy with walking home. He could be alone. He could think.

Right now, Collin was at a little town on the ocean. He didn't know the name, but he did know it would take a while before he got back to Clunn.

Collin waited a few minutes longer, and then walked over to the nearest little shop. It was a blacksmith's. "Has anyone from Nottinghamshire been here today?" he asked the blacksmith, a large, burly man.

The man shook his head. "No. Who're you?" he asked gruffly.

"I am Lord Collin of Clunn. I have just returned to England, and the Sheriff of Nottingham was supposed to send an armed escort." Collin said, fully aware of now annoying and….nobleish he sounded.

Collin had always disliked being a noble. When he was younger, all he did was play with his best from the village of Clunn and a few other boys. He had hated it when his father forced him to come inside for lessons, and most of the time he just ignored his father's call.

Collin waited in the town until dusk, then sighed, got a room at the nearest inn, and went to sleep.

XxX

Michael Dark hated his job. Not only was it extremely boring most of the time, but ever since 'ultimate hero to the peasants' Robin Hood had blown up the entire castle (and most of the town) of Nottingham, as a guard, he had to help rebuild the castle.

Luckily, Michael had been a guard since he was sixteen. He was twenty-one now. He was also quite….small. So, he was simply a supervisor. All of the surviving guards had been marked 'supervisor' by the new Sheriff. He was just as bad as Vaisey and Isabella, if not worse.

Even if he was a supervisor, standing around in the sun all day in a heavy, black guard's uniform was boring and stifling.

Still, it must be worse for those random peasants that were being forced to work because most of the guards had been killed or paralyzed in the great explosion. The latter were killed later, of course.

The explosion itself was pretty interesting, though. Michael had been standing guard at Locksley (or maybe Nettlestone, he couldn't remember which-Michael didn't care about details) when a fiery explosion had lit up the sky. Then he'd had to hunt down and execute the peasants that had clapped.

Just another day in the life of a castle guard.

They continued working until dusk, and then Michael went home. To Knighton.

XxX

Artemis A'Dale. Younger sister to Allan A'Dale, famous outlaw.

Artemis loved her brother, but she _was _sick of being called 'Allan A'Dale's little sister'. Whenever she introduced herself, people looked shocked and asked if she knew Allan A'Dale.

Most of the time she said, "Yes, he's my brother." Unless, of course, she was being asked by a castle guard, Sheriff, etc. Her brother had a pretty bad with people of that sort.

Artemis lived in a cottage in Locksley. She had learned how to read and write at a fairly young age, and she taught some village children three times a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The other days she was one of the women that served food and treated minor injuries for the men that were working on rebuilding the town of Nottingham.

Artemis was twenty-three and not married. She hadn't ever been married, either. For some reason, she just wasn't attracted to any of the men she'd met. There was a castle guard that she thought was rather attractive, but nothing other than that.  
It's not like Artemis was ugly, because she wasn't. She was a bit taller than most women, but only by an inch or two. She had jet black hair that, at the moment, was very long and very straight. Her eyes were the same sparkling blue of her brothers.

Artemis was also a skilled swordswoman. When she was still living in Rochdale with Tom, Allan, and their father, the three children would pretend they were knights, and used sticks as swords. When Tom and her were eleven and Allan was fourteen, they ran away. Allan and her were amazing liars, and all three of them could steal anything that wasn't nailed down tightly, so naturally, they stole some real swords to practice (and defend themselves) with.

Today was a Saturday. She had just gotten back from her shift at the 'castle'. It was her relaxing time. She sat on the ground in front of her cottage and watched the sun go down.

XxX

Kace inwardly groaned as the cart he had snuck into was stopped for inspection. It wouldn't be near as bad if he didn't have the tanned skin all Saracens had, but….

As the cart rolled to a stop, Kace regretted sneaking into England in the first place. He had decided to because he was sick of all the heat and sand. He needed a change of scenery.

Bouncing over multiple rocks in these English roads, though, his stomach didn't feel the same.

Kace saw a small patch of light as the guard moved a sack near the top of the pile that covered him. He tensed, hand on his sword. It was a Saracen sword that he had brought from his home.

As the guard removed more sacks, Kace's heart pounded harder and harder. He readied himself to startle the guard by jumping up, sword in hand, and then running off.

There was a pause. Kace held his breath. "Well, you're good." The guard said. Kace heard the farmer grumble and pile the sacks back into the cart. He then listened to the man's grumbling to try and figure out where they were headed.

"…..At least I'm almost to Locksley…" the man mumbled, and Kace inwardly laughed. Locksley! In the letters, that was mentioned as one of the towns close to Nettlestone, where his contact lived.

The cart kept going, and Kace was slowly lulled to sleep…..

XxX

**There, so what do you think?**

**Is it good, bad, boring, exciting, whatever?**

**Next chapter, most of them will meet each other, and we'll see what kind of people they actually are. **

**With this, it's pretty much only established that Michael is sick of his life and that Artemis is like her brother. **

**Anyway, please review!**

**(I plan on finishing this story, I've almost got chapter two done already)**


	2. A Noble Has Returned!

**I didn't expect to finish this so quickly. **

**Well, here's the second chapter, enjoy!  
And, Michael was only a guard under Vaisey for a year or so, and then Isabella for a while, and now this new Sheriff Whatever-His-Name-Is. **

XxX

_Chapter Two – A Noble is Back!_

Michael was supervising the rebuilding of the castle (of course) when he saw a man come up to the edge of the ruin and gape at the destruction. Michael was going to yell at the man to get back to work, but then he realized he'd never seen this man before in his life. Michael decided to simply ignore the man and get a cup of water.

He paid for the water and the dark haired woman who had handed him his cup smiled at him. He smiled awkwardly back and then sipped his water, staying by the stand and watching the strange man who had started to walk towards them.

"Hello!" he called. Michael ignored him, but the woman who had handed him his cup waved. The man apparently took this as an invitation to come closer. "What happened to Nottingham?" he asked Michael.

"Where have you been the last three months?" Michael asked incredulously.

"I've just come back from the Holy Land. My name is Lord Collin of Clunn." The man said. Michael rolled his eyes. _Great. Another noble back from the crusades. _Michael thought.

"You don't look pleased to see me." The noble sighed. "I knew this would happen."

"Is he mad?" the woman muttered, probably to herself.

"Everyone's forgotten about me!" Collin complained. "Nobody ever forgets about Robin of Locksley, and he was in the Holy Land a lot longer than me."

"Y'know, that might be because of the fact he became Robin 'ood." The woman inserted.

"Yes, yes, Robin Hood. Extreme hero to the people and all that." Collin said grumpily. Michael blinked. Did Collin just use his description of Robin Hood?

"Well, I'm not bein' funny, but what're you going to do about it?" the woman asked.

'Lord Collin of Clunn' seemed to straighten. "I'll help the poor, just like Robin Hood! I just need a gang!" After he said this, he looked at Michael and the woman. Michael shifted.

"Erm…I'm a guard….and I'm supposed to report any rebellions to the new Sheriff, whatever his name is…." Michael said awkwardly.

"It doesn't sound like you enjoy your job very much." Collin observed.

Michael just saw wasted energy in arguing. "I've been a guard for five years. If you were a guard under the Sheriff Vaisey, you'd realize guards don't usually-"

"How old are you?"

Michael glared at Collin and continued. "Normally, guards don't last that long. During my years as a guard I've encountered physical abuse from both outlaws and Sheriffs, and emotional abuse from…well, everyone. No, I obviously don't like my job." Michael took a breath. "And I'm twenty-one."

"What's your name, and do you want to join my band of outlaws?"

"I'm Michael Dark." Michael paused and thought about it for a bit. Well, this guy was obviously crazy. He'd probably forget about it all by tomorrow. Plus, being a guard was boring. "Ah, I've got nothing better to do. Sure."

"What about you?" Collin asked the woman. "How old are you, what is your name, can you wield a sword, are you married, and are you interested in joining?"

"Hey, you didn't ask him if 'e could wield a sword!"

"He's a guard. Obviously, he can wield a sword."

"That's not necessarily true." She muttered. "Anyway, I'm Artemis A'Dale – little sister to the extremely famous and annoying Allan A'Dale – and I'm twenty-three. I can wield a sword as good or better than almost all of the men 'ere, I'm not married, and I'm definitely joining your gang!"

Collin grinned. "Then, let's go!"

"Wait a minute, now?" Michael asked, shocked.

Collin nodded.

"Erm, shouldn't we go and get, y'know, our stuff?" Artemis asked. "My swords are at home, an' I can't fight in a dress."

Collin sighed, obviously disappointed. "Okay….where do you live?"

"Locksley." Artemis said, just as Michael replied with "Knighton."

"And I live in Clunn! All we need is someone from Nettlestone and someone from Nottingham, and we'll be good. Actually since a lot of the people in Nottingham died, we'll probably have trouble with that…" Collin kept rambling on and on. Artemis and Michael looked at each other.

"Not bein' funny, but shouldn't we be going?" Artemis asked. Collin snapped his mouth shut and nodded.

"Michael, I expected better than this…" a smooth voice said behind them al. Michael and Artemis whipped around to look at Sheriff…..whatever his name was.

The new Sheriff of Nottingham was younger than most. He was about average height (maybe a little short, but nobody was going to tell him that) with black hair and brown eyes. His hair was cut at his chin. He didn't have any facial hair, and he was glaring at Michael.

"Don't stand there and look shocked….get back to work!" the Sheriff snapped at a few peasants that were staring. "I am going to excuse Lord Collin of Clunn for two reasons: he may be a lord and from what I have heard he is completely crazy. I am going to excuse Miss Artemis A'Dale because there are so few beautiful things in the world and it is a shame to destroy him."

"I'm not complainin' or anything, but isn't that a bit unfair?" Artemis asked, ignoring the comment about her beauty. She obviously shared her brother's 'I know I'm amazingly attractive, it would be repetitive to point it out' trait.

"I am letting you go free. Just accept it, and show up for the hanging tomorrow." The Sheriff said primly and signaled to two more guards to take Michael to whatever he was using as a makeshift dungeon.

"That was an unfortunate turn of events." Collin said.

XxX

Kace stopped for a minute, leaning against a tree and trying to catch his breath. When the farmer had discovered a Saracen hiding in his cart, he hadn't been happy. That resulted in a farmer with a bloody arm and a Saracen with a bruise under one eye.

Oh, and a few guards chasing him though the forest. As the guards came closer, Kace readied himself to run again.

He was stopped when the guards surrounded the tree he was leaning on. He hadn't even heard the guards that had suddenly appeared in front of him.

Kace weighed his options carefully. He could climb the tree, risk being shot at, and possibly escape. Or, he could go with them, and be hung….hm…there's something to think about.

A slightly short, thin man with black hair walked out of the trees. The guards let him through. "Double execution tomorrow, I believe!" he said cheerfully.

XxX

**Yes, Collin is completely crazy. **

**Also, when I wrote the Sheriff's first line, I imagined Yumichika Ayasegawa from Bleach. So, I just used that. And the Sheriff still needs a name, if anybody has any suggestions. **


	3. The Hanging

**I am so sorry for not updating sooner. :P**

**Anyway, here's the third chapter, it's a little more serious than the other two.**

**Enjoy!**

XxX

_-Chapter Three-The Hanging-_

Kace was extremely regretting his decision to come to England. Not only was the country extremely boring, members of it weren't very friendly to Saracens.

Even his cell mate was boring. The cell was rather boring, too, if he thought about it. Apparently, Nottingham castle was under construction, and they were in a cellar.

And they were hanging today as well. From the snippets of conversation he could catch at the top of the steps, they were in a cellar at Locksley. They were hanging today, in the ruins of Nottingham. Nottingham construction was going well. The servants found the new Sheriff attractive. The new Sheriff was expecting an Artemis A'Dale at the hanging. The recently returned Collin of Clunn was crazy. Useless knowledge like that was the result of crouching at the top of the stairs the entire time he had been in this cellar.

Though it was pretty dull, it had to be more interesting than what his….er…."friend" was doing. Ever since Kace had gotten rudely thrown into the cellar, all the other man had done was sit in a corner and glower at him. At least, Kace assumed he was still glaring.

The door swung open, startling Kace. The Saracen backed down the stairs, his dark brown eyes wide. He glanced at his cell mate.

Now that light was flooding the cell (and the guards were coming down rather slowly), Kace finally saw exactly what his cell mate looked like.

He was small, with dark, almost curly brown hair. He was also quite pale, with freckles dotting his nose and cheeks. He had huge, round dark brown eyes and long, dark eyelashes. He looked no older than sixteen.

The guards (there were four of them – apparently tow couldn't handle a Saracen and a kid) made it to the floor. One of the bound Kace's hands behind his back roughly while another guard did the same to the kid. They were then forced to march to a cart, which they were pushed into. The 'criminals' began the journey to Nottingham.

XxX

Artemis was awakened by a loud knocking on her door. She yawned and rolled out of bed. She hadn't come home until late last night. She smoothed down her hair and answered the door.

It was Collin. "Hello!" he said cheerfully.

Artemis yawned. "How did you find out where I lived?"

"Yesterday, you said you lived in Locksley, so I just knocked on every door until I found you! Get your sword, we're interrupting the hanging."

"We are?"

"Yes." Collin laughed unexpectedly. "This is exactly like how Robin Hood started his gang, too!"

Artemis briefly wondered if he had talked extremely loud about his plans yesterday just so it _would _be exactly like how Robin Hood had started his gang, and then decided against it. Nobody was that crazy. "So, d'you have a bow?"

Collin just looked at her blankly. "A bow?"

"Y'know, to shoot them down?"

"Oh….I don't have a bow….I'm a terrible shot…"

Artemis sighed. _Incompetent fool. _She thought. Luckily, she had a bow, and she wasn't a bad shot, either. She looked around for a bit until she found it, buried beneath God-knows-what.

Collin tossed her a black, hooded cloak. "Here. Put it on."

She did as he suggested and hid her bow under the cloak. Her sword hung at her side as well. If her brother had taught her anything, it was to keep a sword near at all times. Allan, while trying to train her and Tom to be 'expert thieves', had taken pleasure in randomly attacking them.

"For now, you can keep your hood down. The Sheriff expects to see you there."

Artemis nodded. "We should probably get going." Collin suddenly brightened.

"Oh yeah, I have a carriage waiting outside." He said, grabbing Artemis's hand and pulling her out of her cottage and toward a carriage. The door was opened for them, and Artemis got in.

"This is weird." She muttered as the carriage started to move. Collin looked at her.

"Why?" he asked, confusion evident on his face.

"Not bein' funny, but I'm a peasant. Normally, peasants don't ride in carriages, especially with nobles."

"Rules are made to be broken." Collin said, grinning at her. "I think that applies to social classes as well."

Artemis looked at him, surprised. "Y'know, maybe you're not completely crazy after all."

"Maybe I just pretend to be completely crazy to throw everyone off." Collin replied.

"Yeah, I could understand that." Artemis said thoughtfully. "When me'n'Tom'n'Allan were younger, after we 'ad run away from home o'course, we would often pretend one o' us had some sort of problem. Normally it was Allan, he's a good actor an' I can set up a story well, but sometimes Tom. Normally, though, we would just be fast. Get in, get out wi' the money, or food, or whatever."

Collin nodded slowly. "I can understand that. When did you run away from home?"

"I was about eleven, an' so was Tom (we're twins). Allan was fourteen."

"That's pretty young."

"Yeah, but we could take care o' ourselves." Artemis paused, thinking a bit. "An' we never had any trouble escaping, if we had to."

"Did you often have to escape?"

"Only if Tom messed-" the carriage suddenly came to a halt.

"We're going to talk o' the valuables, an' if you protest…" A voice said from outside of the carriage.

Artemis stiffened. "Allan." She muttered. Before anyone could stop her, she was out of the carriage and standing right in front of the troublemaker. "Allan! You're an idiot! Do you want us to be late for the 'anging? Do you want Michael to die? Do you want the new Sheriff to be extremely angry?"

"Not bein' funny, but who are you?" Allan said. Artemis simply glared at him, and understanding passed over his face. "Artemis? I haven't seen you in years?"

"Yeah, thanks for visiting." She muttered. She then let her gaze travel over the outlaws. She recognized Much and Little John. She also realized the blonde girl standing beside her brother was Kate, from the village. There was one other person; a man with dark hair and deep blue eyes. If she had thought Michael was kind of attractive before, it was all wiped away. He was, without a doubt, the most handsome man she'd ever seen.

"Artemis, stop staring at Archer. Where've you been living the past seven years?"

"In Locksley!" Artemis said angrily. "Now go away and let us through!"

Allan sighed, then looked at Little John. Little John shrugged. "All right, then. You're goin' to Nottingham?"

Artemis nodded. "To stop a hanging."

Allan grinned suddenly. "Bye Artemis." He nodded once, and they all ran off into the forest. Artemis watched them go, then rolled her eyes and got back into the carriage.

"Sorry 'bout that." Artemis apologized as she sat back down. "My brother's an idiot."

"It's okay." Collin assured her as the carriage began to move again. "Outlaws make daily life more interesting."

Artemis thought for a bit. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Do what?"

"You know. Rescue Michael. Become an outlaw."

Collin smiled. "Ever since I heard stories of Robin Hood, I knew that once I got back here I wanted to follow in his footsteps." He paused. "Now that I'm home, I can."

XxX

"I, Sheriff Thomas of Nottingham, sentence Michael Dark of Knighton and…er….a Saracen to hang from a rope until they are dead."  
Collin heard Artemis gasp. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

"Tom." Artemis said quietly.

Collin nodded as the drum began and the executioner (who looked oddly familiar to Collin) led Michael and the Saracen to the gallows that had probably been constructed overnight.

The executioner put a hood over Michaels (currently) emotionless face, and a hood over the frantic Saracen's.

Collin turned to Artemis. "As soon as the noose goes around their neck and they're off the ground, you shoot."

The dark-haired woman nodded and tightened her hand around the bow. "Now?" she whispered as the two began to dangle.

"Now!" Collin shouted. Artemis quickly fired an arrow, freeing Michael. The former guard fumbled a bit with the hood before he managed to get it off. By the time Artemis had freed the Saracen, Collin was near enough to the gallows that he could help. The lord of Clunn wrenched a sword away from a random guard and thrust it into Michael's hand.

Collin turned to see Artemis throw aside the bow and draw her sword. She cut her way through the guards (the girl could wield a sword, that was for sure) and toward four horses. "Hey! Over 'ere!" she yelled.

Michael immediately sprinted to the horses, climbing onto a majestic black beast. Collin began to follow until he saw that the Saracen wasn't following. "Come on!" he shouted impatiently. The Saracen looked at him, startled.

Collin had to glare at the Saracen for a few seconds until the man got the message. By the time Collin and the Saracen made it over to the horses, Artemis and Michael were beginning to ride away.

Eventually, the lord, the thief's sister, the guard, and the Saracen had disappeared into the dark and treacherous Sherwood Forest.

XxX

**I think that may be the longest one I've ever written. **

**Thanks to CaribbeanAzure for reviewing. **

**Also, I made up a name for the Sheriff, so I don't need names. **


	4. So, How Do You Like Outlawship?

**Enjoy!**

XxX

_-Chapter Four-So, How Do You Like Outlawship?-_

Kace yawned and opened his eyes, startled to be faced with so much green. Then he remembered he was an outlaw. In England.

Yesterday, he had almost hung. Now, he was in a forest….what forest was it again? Oh well, it didn't really matter anyway.

Across from him, on the other side of the fire, was the only girl in the group, Artemis A'Dale. She was beautiful, with jet black hair, bright blue eyes, and very pale skin. Beside her was his small, dark-haired cell mate.

The other person in their group, Collin of Clunn, was gone. Kace had no idea where the noble was; he must have gotten up extremely early.

Kace sighed and sat up, watching the trees around him. He felt so confined. Back home, it was all open. And warm. It was cold in this country.

A large bag flew through the air and landed in front of his cell mate (Now Kace remembered his name was Michael), who woke up with a start.

Kace rolled his eyes as Collin came bounded into their makeshift camp, a huge grin on his face.

The Lord Collin of Clunn was of average height, and thin, but not too skinny. He had blue eyes hidden by his long, brown hair, and, all the times Kace had seen him, a huge grin on his face.

"Wake up, Artemis!" he shouted. Artemis opened her eyes, grumbled something about 'stupid, early rising nobles', and promptly fell asleep again. "I caught a bird! Three birds!"

At the mention of food, Artemis's eyes shot open again. "Alright, as long as I don't 'ave to cook."

Collin nodded, that ridiculous grin still plastered on his face. "Okay! I'll cook!"

Michael, who had picked up the bag, looked at Collin skeptically. "This weighs a lot more than three birds…" he said.

"Well, I grabbed some stuff from Clunn." Collin admitted. "They haven't touched any of my stuff yet, so I grabbed a few things."

Artemis grabbed the bag. She reached in and pulled out a sword. A Saracen sword. His sword.

"That's my sword." He said quietly. The other three outlaws looked at him, startled.

"What?" Michael asked bluntly.

"I said, that's my sword. The Sheriff-person took it from me."

"Hm. Sheriff…." Collin paused, then looked at Artemis for help.

"Sheriff Thomas of Nottingham." Artemis said quietly.

"Oh, okay. Sheriff Thomas of Nottingham gave it to me as a 'welcome home' gift." Collin took the sword from Artemis and tossed it to Kace, who had to dodge it so he wouldn't be impaled on the sharp blade. "Sorry!"

Kace rolled his eyes again and took his sword in his hand and began to inspect it.

XxX

Collin of Clunn had an idea for their first robbery. Well, Artemis would be doing all the work while Michael, the Saracen-or Kace, as he liked to be called, and himself began to work on the camp. The place they had now was a pretty good place….Collin decided to work on the design when they were actually working on the camp.

"Okay, gang, gather here!" Collin said. Michael, who had discarded the rest of his breakfast ages ago, was the first to sit before him. Kace wandered over with some of his breakfast still in his hand, and Artemis finished the last few bites before coming to sit with the rest of the gang. "I have a plan." Collin began. "Artemis, you should probably pay attention, you're a big part of this plan."

Artemis stopped playing with the grass. "Sorry." She muttered.

The grin flashed across Collin's face again. "It's okay." He said. "Anyway, this is the plan. Michael, Kace, and myself are going to work on building a camp. Artemis, you are going to be the main part of this mission."

"Not bein' funny, but it's not a mission if I'm the only one doing something."

Collin thought for a bit. "True." He said. "Anyway, you're going to go to Locksley and steal as much money as you can. It's tax day."

"That means there'll be guards everywhere."

"Look, this is just a little mission. It's not that important."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Not only will there be guards everywhere, but Locksley's where Tho-the Sheriff lives."

"Were you going to say Thomas?" Collin asked curiously. Artemis turned a deep red. "Do you like him?"

"Shut up. I'm going to go now." Artemis muttered, standing up and stomping off towards Locksley.

XxX

Artemis walked towards Locksley, mentally killing herself. She had to remember that even though the Sheriff shared her brother's name and was quite attractive, he was her enemy.

When she got to the edge of Locksley, right behind the manor, she put up her hood and kept a hand on her sword. She glanced at the guards.

Artemis knew she could eventually find a way to slip inside the manor….if only those guards were gone, it would be so much-

Artemis let out a cry of surprise as she was pulled back into the trees. She twisted around and found herself staring into the sparkling blue eyes of the outlaw she didn't know; one of Allan's gang.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Obviously, I'm lookin' for a way inside w'out alerting the guards." Artemis hissed.

"Why would you want a way inside-hang on, you're the girl who yelled at Allan yesterday."

"I'm his sister."

"So, then, how did the hanging go?"

Artemis sighed. God lord, this man was annoying. She'd rather spend a day with the Sheriff than be interrogated one more minute by this man. Even if he was extraordinarily handsome. "Me'n'Collin saved Kace and Michael, an' now we're outlaws."

"Ah, so that's why you want to get in. Copying the famous Robin Hood, are we?"

"It may be true that Collin wants to be like Robin 'ood, but-"

"You want a way in? I'll help you." The man said, cutting her off abruptly. He held out his hand. "The name's Archer."

Artemis looked at him curiously, then shook his hand. "Artemis A'Dale."

"Come on then, let's go." Archer said, grinning at her and sprinting out of the trees.

Artemis gaped after him for a minute, then followed. "Stupid, attractive outlaw." She muttered. As she got nearer, Archer winked at her and began talking to the guards.

"Hello!" Archer said loudly. The guards looked at each other, then at Archer.

"Who are you?" the bigger one said gruffly. Artemis suddenly remembered a time when Allan had talked guards out of leaving their posts to pursue carpentry. She jumped in front of Archer.

"The real question is, who are you?" she asked. The guards stared at her. She glared back at them.

"Uh, I'm Carter." The bigger one said.

"James…" a surprisingly young-sounding voice came from behind the other helmet.

"Well, today is your lucky day, Carter and James!" Artemis exclaimed.

"Why?" James asked suspiciously.

"Because I'm going to tell you all the evils of being a guard and all the joys of…." Artemis paused for effect. "Carpentry!"

She felt a tap on her shoulder. "What, Archer?"

"Archer? Who's Archer?" a smooth voice asked. Artemis's breath caught, and she turned slowly to stare into the beautiful face of Sheriff Thomas of Nottingham.

XxX

**Well, that didn't end the way I expected it too…when I was writing it, I was originally going to have it be Archer, but Thomas decided he was going to find Artemis.**

**ANYWAY, I would be really pleased if you would review, if you're reading this. Four chapters and only one review is not making me very happy.**


	5. Sheriff Thomas of Nottingham

**Everyone's favorite Sheriff had to have a chapter dedicated to himself and Artemis, so, here it is!**

XxX

_-Chapter Five-Sheriff Thomas of Nottingham-_

To Artemis's surprise, she wasn't taken to dungeon, or cellar. In fact, she was taken someplace rather nice.

The Sheriff had taken her by the hand and, after ordering James and Carter to follow in case she decided to kill him, led her to a bedroom in Locksley Manor.

The Sheriff sat down on the bed, pulling Artemis to sit down beside him, "Sheriff-"

"Please, call me Thomas. I detest the word Sheriff, it makes one think of an old, balding, not beautiful man."

Artemis looked at him. "Okay, Thomas. I'm not bein' funny, but why am I here?"

"You are here because I brought you here, obviously." Thomas laughed, a high, clear sound. "I have decided I will be different than other Sheirffs-" he visibly winced at the word. "at least to people I deem beautiful. In this horrid, ugly….place" he shuddered "You are the only beautiful human being, except for myself.

"Well, seein' as I've spent the last few days wi' someone obviously crazy, this doesn't phase me much."

Thomas smiled. "There are dresses of various sizes and colors in that box over there." He waved his hand toward a box in the corner of the room. "There is also a bath drawn in the next room. Take a bath, put on a dress, and join me for dinner."

Artemis rolled her eyes and walked into the next room. She surveyed the area and her gaze landed on the bathtub. She sighed.

"Might as well enjoy it while I'm stuck here…."

XxX

Artemis had gone through all the dresses in the box, and the easiest one to run in was a loose, midnight blue gown. She had managed to bathe and get into the dress in about twenty minutes, and apparently that was right about the time it took it took for dinner to get ready, for a knock came at her door.

Artemis opened the door and saw a nervous-looking boy on the other side. "I'm supposed to lead you to the dining hall." He said.

Artemis blinked. That voice was the voice of James, the young guard that she'd tried to turn into a carpenter. "James?" she asked, startled.

The boy nodded. Artemis almost started laughing. She never would've thought that 'James' was a nervous-looking, black-haired boy. She'd guessed he was young, but she would've thought the main expression on his face would be arrogance, or insolence…..anything but nervousness.

"Follow me." James said, walking down a hall and then down a flight of stairs.

When Thomas saw her, he stood up. "You look beautiful." He complimented.

Artemis rolled her eyes. This guy was so predictable. At least Archer had been a little random….one minute asking her what she was doing and the next offering to help her inside. _Where did he go, anyway?_ She wondered.

"Sit down." Thomas invited. She noticed he had already reinhabited his seat, so she sat down in the chair nearest to her, which was right across from him. She looked at the table. It was a lot shorter than most noble's tables, but it was more elegant, in a way.

"Do you like the table? It was custom-made by a man in Scarburough. Scarlett, I believe."

"It's nice." Artemis admitted. "A lot smaller than most, though."

"Sometimes smaller things are more precious."

"Why did you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Bring me to the manor. Give me a meal and fancy clothes."

"I already told you." Thomas sighed. "Aren't you glad you're not in a pitch-black cell, or that I'm not…..taking advantage of you."

"You confuse me."

"_You_, my dear, confuse me."

"Why do I confuse you? Not bein' funny, but you're the confusing one."

Thomas smirked. "Perhaps I am the confusing one. I am certainly the beautiful one, although you are quite pretty yourself."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Honestly, is that all you care about?"

Thomas smiled. "I'm not quite sure." He mused. "I believe it is a big part of all I care about, but I don't know yet."

"Yet?"

"I am only twenty-five. I do not know yet."

"'ow can you be Sheriff at only twenty-five?"

"Through bribery, among other things." Thomas admitted. "Katherine! James! Bring in the meal!"

A light-haired girl entered the room with two plates. James followed carrying two silver goblets. Once Katherine set down the plates, Artemis was faced with long, worm-like strands. "What is it?" she asked.

"It's Italian. They call it atriya. It's made from flour and water. Katherine or James should be bringing in fresh vegetables to garnish it with."

Artemis nodded slowly. "You're weird." She decided.

"Simply because I enjoy the finer things in life?" Thomas laughed. Just then, James came in with two small bowls of vegetables. He set one by Artemis and one by Thomas. He then bowed and left.

"Well, maybe weird isn't the righ' word." Artemis thought for a bit longer. "Different would probably be better."

"How so?"

"Well, for one, you're only twenty-five. An' I'm not in a dungeon, an' you're giving me weird food."

"Try it. Put some vegetables on it and take a bite."

Artemis looked at the food skeptically. She might as well. She sighed and spooned a few brightly colored objects onto her plate. She examined it for a few seconds, then put one of the shorter of the things in her mouth. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad.

"Well?"

She swallowed. "Well, it's not 'orrible."

"That's always nice to know." Thomas said. She stared at him, trying to figure out if he was being sarcastic.

"I 'ave a question."

"Feel free to ask it. Be warned, though, if I suspect you're saying I'm not beautiful, I may have to kill you."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "How long am I goin' to stay here?"

"As long as it takes, Miss A'Dale, as long as it takes."

XxX

**I believe that's the first time I've ever done any research for any story I've written. Atriya is actually an early form of spaghetti. **

**Review, please, even though it was super-short. **


	6. Hero

**Oh god, I feel horrible. I've had this chapter written since **_**Friday**_**. Not only that, but I've had loads of computer time. **

**Sorry.**

**Other than that, enjoy!**

XxX

_-Chapter Six-Hero-_

As soon as he exited the dining hall, James took off running. He didn't know what sort of scheme the Sheriff had thought up, but he knew he had to save Miss Artemis.

James wasn't very good at wielding a blade, shooting a bow, or anything, really. Well, he could cook. That was about it. He had one hope – the man called Archer.

James had heard that Archer was a part of the remains of Robin Hood's gang. He had also heard the man was half-brother to Robin Hood himself. _Guess we both have important brothers_. He thought.

Soon, James was deep into the forest. "Hello?" he called nervously. He'd never been this deep in Sherwood before.

James was only fifteen. He sometimes stood guard, but mostly he was a servant in Locksley Manor. He was also terrified of the darkness that was quickly descending over the forest.

"Hello?" he called again, frantically this time. "Is anyone here? Miss Artemis needs help!"

He saw something move in the dark. "Hello?" his voice came out in a terrified whisper. A branch broke behind him. James took a shaky step back.

It was almost pitch-black now. James backed up until his back hit a tree. _Something _was approaching. He didn't know what it was, but it had a very pale face and huge, dark, bottomless pits for eyes.

"Why are you here?" a deep voice growled. James opened his mouth, then shut it again as no words came. "I asked you a question."

"Really, Michael, I think you've frightened the boy enough."

The phantom sighed. "I was having fun." It complained in a much higher voice than before.

A person appeared holding a torch. "Who are you, by the way?"

"J-James." James stuttered. "W-who are you?"

"I'm Collin, and that's Michael. We were trying out our new defense. Michael makes a great vampire!" the man said brightly.

"Why _are _you here?" Michael asked.

"I'm-well, it's a long story." James admitted.

"We can take him to our camp! Michael, do you know how the other outlaws make sure their camp isn't found?"

"How should I know?" Michael rolled his eyes. "And our camp is under construction. Kace is at the makeshift camp."

Collin thought a bit. "True." He admitted. He then disappeared into the trees, taking the light with him.

Michael followed. James was alone. Again. Soon, though, the torch appeared again. "Hurry up!" Colin said impatiently.

James followed

XxX

Kace was sitting at the makeshift camp, staring into the fire. He briefly wondered where Artemis was, then decided she had probably run into Collin and Michael in the woods and was with them.

He jumped to his feet as Collin and Michael entered the camp, a small, scared-looking boy with them. "Who's this?" Kace asked curiously.

"This is James!" Collin said cheerfully. "James, now that we're at the camp, tell us your story."

Kace saw the boy took a deep breath. "Well, I'm James. I'm a servant at Locksley Manor and I sometimes stand guard." The boy visibly winced. "The Sheriff has a new prisinor."

"Who is it?" Collin asked excitedly. James just looked at him through gigantic blue eyes.

Kace thought a bit-Artemis. "It's Artemis." He blurted out.

"How do you know?" James asked.

"She's not back yet. Where else could she be?"

Collin stood up. "We have to rescue her! Where is she being held?"

"I think it would be stupid to try and save her now. We should wait until tomorrow." Michael yawned. "I'm tired."

Collin sighed. "Okay. I'll take you to the edge of Sherwood. Locksley, right?"

James nodded.

XxX

James paced inside his quarters. He had decided he would save Miss Artemis tonight. He just didn't know how.

She was on the second floor, he knew that much. He had no idea about guards, or where Thomas was, or anything, really.

He sat down on the bed, sighing. He turned his eyes to the ceiling and thought. How could he save Miss Artemis? He couldn't do anything…except cook.

He could cook.

He could cook.

He could _cook._

He. Could. Cook.

That's what he would do! He would cook a drugged meal for the guards (if there were any outside of the room; if not, no loss), and then help Miss Artemis escape!

But, that would only work if the guards would listen to him. Only Alexander didn't ignore him, and that was because Alexander didn't have any friends, so the two just protected each other from the older, bossier, meaner guards.

He decided to give it a shot. He walked quickly to the kitchen.

James decided to make more atriya, only with a special ingrediant. He quickly mjixed up a batch, formed the strings, and waited for them to dry.

It seemed to take forever. James prodded one of them every few seconds to see if they were dry yet. His eyes kept darting to the door. James didn't know what would happen if he got caught, but he guessed it would be bad.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they were dry. James piled the atriya onto two plates and began the trek to Miss Artemis's room.

Halfway there, he tripped and the atriya went flying. James watched from the floor as it splattered only was it everywhere, it hadn't been fully dried, either.

James groaned. Now he'd have to clean it up. He sighed and began the chore.

Eventually, he finished. It was only a few hours until dawn. He would have to hurry.

He supposed he could try and climb through the window. It would be pretty tough (James wasn't all that athletic) but he figured he could make it in at least an hour.

He took a deep breath and went to go search for some rope.

XxX

James stood outside what he figured was Miss Artemis's window, rope in his hands. He had no idea why he had ever thought he could climb up a rope to that height.

He took a deep breath and threw the rope. It bounced off the wall, not even making it too the window. James sighed. Well, he could try and….never mind. It was impossible. He would never be able to save her.

"What are you doing?" A voice said. James jumped and turned to face the man called Archer.

"I-I'm trying to save Miss Artemis."

"And failing, I see." Archer observed. James nodded, sighing.

"You should wait until tomorrow." Archer continued. "I like Artemis, too, but it's not a good time to save her. Also, throwing a rope at her window isn't going to work."

"I figured that out already."

Archer stared up at Artemis's window for a few seconds. "I shouldn't have left her."

"What?"

"When we were trying to trick those guards. I thought she was doing fin on her own….and I left her. And now she's gone."

XxX

**Of course I couldn't let James rescue her-but he's a cute character, so I decided to let him try. And epically, fail, of course.**

**Once again, I'm extremely sorry for not posting this earlier.**

**Anyway, who's your favorite character so far?  
Mine's Thomas-you'll see why in the next chapter.**

**Anyway, review or Vampire-Michael will be set loose in your house!**


	7. The Storm

**Thank you to CaribbeanAzure and robinhood447 for reviewing! **

**Also, to robinhood447~James isn't Will's brother-but good guess!**

**CaribbeanAzure~Thank you for reviewing! You'll get to see who James's brother is in Chapter Eight.**

XxX

_-Chapter Seven-The Storm-_

Collin had woken up early so they could rescue Artemis. Unfortunately, he was having trouble waking up his comrades. He suspected Kace was actually awake and was just pretending to sleep every time Collin walked past him.

It had gotten to a point where Collin was throwing rocks at the two other outlaws. Eventually, the two would get sick of laying there and would _get up already._

Michael sat up, yawning. "Why….am I awake?" he asked in a very slow voice. Collin immediately felt bad. Here he'd been throwing rocks at the poor guy, and he'd actually been _sleeping. _

"Sorry. Can you get Kace to get up?"

"I'm up." Kace said, still lying on the ground.

"You are not up. You are still laying there, and we have to rescue Artemis." Collin said grumpily.

Kace stood up. "Sorry." He said. "Let's go, then."

Collin's features were once again graced with a bright smile. He looked at Michael, who was threatening to fall asleep again.

"MICHAEL. WAKE UP." Collin yelled, causing Michael to jump to his feet.

"S-sorry." He said, yawning again. Collin glared at him, and he picked up his sword. "I'm ready.

XxX

"My dear, today we are going for a stroll through Locksley!" A cheerful voice said through Artemis's door.

Artemis blinked and yawned. _Morning already? _She thought. She sat up slowly.

"Artemis, wake up!" the voice came again. It was almost sing-songy.

"I'm awake." She replied, yawning. She rolled out of bed and stood up to answer the door.

"Then I can come in!" the Sheriff-no _Thomas _thrust open the door and walked in, an uncharacteristic bounce in his step.

"So we're walkin' through Locksley, then?"

"Yes! We're going to admire the beautiful day with the beautiful clouds."

Artemis looked outside. It was raining. "Not bein' funny, but it's raining."

"I know!" Thomas smiled. "It's beautiful, isn't it? And the rain will make it so nobody wants to leave their homes, so those ugly peasants won't be around."

Artemis just stared at him.

"You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"Possibly. Jus' a little."

"Well, I'm not crazy. Very much. Anyway, are you ready? If we wait too long, the rain will clear up."

Artemis sighed. "Sure, I'm ready."

Thomas looked at her. "Your hair is a mess." He pointed out. "But, that's okay, because the rain will fix it. We're going to walk through Locksley, walk back, and then go into Sherwood."

Artemis yawned. "Okay." She really was too tired to think about what he had just said.

Thomas took her hand and pulled her out of her room. The two guards outside her room, a tall, skinny one and a normal-sized one, started to follow until Thomas shook his head.

"But-" they began to complain, but then Thomas glared at them and they retreated. It was amazing what the man could do with a simple look. Of course, they were probably scared he would execute them (Sheriffs never had a reputation for being nice), but even so…

Soon, they were out in the rain. The rain was beautiful, she supposed, but the mud her feet kept sinking into was not. "Once we get into the forest, it will be better." Thomas assured her. "In fact, why don't we cut to the forest now, I don't feel like coating my feet in…" he curled his lip. "Mud."

"Sure." Artemis shrugged. Like was stated a few paragraphs before, she was too tired to care.

"The rain will wake you up." Thomas remarked as they walked toward the forest. A flash of lightening erupted over the trees. "Ooh, we've got real storm brewing."

After a few minutes off the road, Thomas declared them 'thoroughly lost in this beautiful labyrinth.' He continued on to say that he didn't mind, because he was a beautiful person in a beautiful forest with another beautiful person.

And he did use the word beautiful that many times.

Thomas leaned against a tree. "So, what do you think of our predicament, Artemis?"

"Not bein' funny, but-" Artemis's comment was cut off by her scream. Lightening had struck a tree near them, and it had started a chain reaction of falling trees – and that was the good part. The trees had somehow missed her, but after Artemis had courage enough to look, her couldn't see Thomas anymore.

"T-Thomas?" she managed to squeak out. She cautiously stepped forward as the storm raged on around her. After a few minutes of labor, she had cleared the wood away from Thomas's face.

"What are you doing, Artemis?" Artemis turned around. Oh. Just Archer.

"I'm trying to free Thomas. Wha' does it look like?" Artemis replied, gesturing toward the Sheriff's pale face.

"But he's the Sheriff! Just let him die. He captured you, remember?"

"An' he's been very nice!"

"That's only because you're beautiful."

"Look, why don' you want me saving him?"

Archer sighed. "Because of this." And then he kissed her.

Artemis was shocked for a few seconds, and then she pulled away. "What the hell was that?" she shouted.

"What did it seem like? I kissed you!"

"Well, I know that! Why?"

"Because I really like you! I don't want you to belong to him!"

"Belong to 'im? I don' belong to anybody." Artemis glared at the outlaw, then crouched down beside Thomas's still form and began to clear away the branches and bits of wood.

XxX

Michael yawned as he followed Collin and Kace through the forest. He was tired. And wet. And freezing cold. And the downpour of rain didn't help.

Lightning flashed across the sky and was followed by the deep rumble of thunder. "Storm." Michael yawned.

"Yeah…did you know it's dangerous to be in the woods during a storm?" Collin said brightly. "You could get struck by a falling tree!"

"Nice to know." Kace said, rolling his eyes. "Where do you suppose he's holding her?"

"Well, I doubt she's in a cell." Collin mused. "She is pretty, and he's pardoned her before because of it."

"Why didn't we ask the boy where she was?" Kace wondered.

"Because we're not smart." Michael muttered, yawning again. He was really, really tired.

The group walked along in silence until they came to a strange sight – one of the other outlaws standing awkwardly next to a tree and Artemis crouching down beside a pile of wood, working furiously to clear it away from whatever was trapped. As Michael got closer, he saw it was the Sheriff she was trying to rescue.

Collin touched Artemis lightly on the shoulder. She turned her head to look at him, and Michael could see her eyes were full of tears. "What happened?" the former noble asked gently.

Kace nudged Michael and pointed at the Sheriff. Michael inwardly sighed, but nodded. The two began to free the Sheriff as Artemis explained her story.

"Well, we were goin' for a walk, an' we got lost. A tree got struck by lightnin' somewhere over there-" Artemis pointed toward the direction they had just came from. "an' next thing I know, 'e was buried. And he's been no 'elp." She finished angrily, glaring at the other outlaw.

"Yeah, who is he, by the way?" Michael asked, pausing in his work for a moment.

"The name's Archer." The man said. "I'm a member of Allan's gang."

Michael knew who Allan A'Dale was. As a guard, he'd been physically abused by many outlaws; Allan A'Dale, Robin Hood, Little John (Michael winced at that memory), Much….the list went on and on.

At least his days as a guard were over.

XxX

**So, how'd you like it? **

**Review or someone you like is going to get struck by a falling tree and Archer will come and refuse to help!**


	8. Recovery, Pardons, and a Little Surprise

**And in this chapter, we see who James's brother is. This is also the last chapter, not including the epilogue-thing.**

XxX

Artemis tiptoed into the room. The physician, a short, chubby man, looked at her. "You are….?"

"Artemis A'Dale." She said, her gaze drifting to the man on the bed. "How is he?"

"He'll mend." The physician sighed. "He'll have a limp forever, though. It's too bad, he's young yet."

"Can I have a minute alone with him?"

The man hesitated, but after a few seconds nodded, sighing. Artemis smiled at him, then walked over to the head of the bed. She heard the door close as the little man left.

After the physician left, Thomas's eyes opened. "I'm not beautiful anymore." He said quietly. A long scar now ran down the side of Thomas's face.

"You're still beautiful." Artemis said, a small smile playing on her lips.

"No, I'm not." He sighed and lifted a hand to touch the scar. "And I'll have a limp. A limp." He emphasized the last sentence, looking at her through sparkling blue eyes.

"But you'll always be beautiful." Artemis insisted. "You'll always be beautiful, an' strong."

Thomas smiled. "No, Artemis. You're wrong about that. I've never been strong." He blinked. "I've been cold, cruel, heartless….I bet you didn't know I had a brother."

"You 'ave a brother?"

"Yes. You know him." Thomas closed his eyes for a moment. "I treat my own brother as a servant, simply because he is younger and less beautiful than myself – or than I was." Thomas took a breath. "My brother is James."

Artemis's eyes widened. "James? The little servant?"

Thomas nodded. "I'm a horrible person." He muttered.

"No, you're not." Artemis argued gently. "You're amazing." Artemis paused. "Nobody's ever made me feel like this before."

"Like what?" Thomas asked. Artemis thought for a bit. It was too hard to explain.

"Like this." Artemis whispered. And with that, she leaned down and kissed him.

XxX

About six months later, Thomas had recovered. Nottingham Castle had been completed, and Thomas had moved out of Locksley and into Nottingham.

It was a bright Thursday afternoon. Both Collin's and Allan's gangs were at Nottingham Castle, for today he was going to pardon them all.

There was tension in the room. Tension between his Artemis, his beautiful Artemis and the outlaw Archer. Tension between Michael Dark and Allan's outlaws.

Collin was ignoring all of the tension, or perhaps he could not sense it. The man was chattering aimlessly with the kitchen maid Katherine, who was not only beautiful but kind, obedient, and actually had a sense of humor. Her and Collin seemed to be getting on wonderfully.

Once the council of nobles had assembled, (most of them looking uneasily at the outlaws) Thomas stood up.

"Nobles. Outlaws. Beautiful people." Thomas said. "We gather today for one purpose. Well, I may address a few other things, but mostly we gather for the pardoning of these outlaws."

He saw the nobles shift uncomfortably. The pardoning of outlaws wasn't something you did every day, and most of these particular outlaws had lived in the forest for a long while. Because of this, Thomas had made them all bathe and dress in clothes worthy of nobles.. His beautiful Artemis was stunning in a long, black dress.

"First of all, Allan A'Dale. You have been pardoned by myself, Sheriff Thomas of Nottingham. It has also come to my attention that Nottingham needs a new tavern. It will be built, and you will own it." Thomas moved on to the other outlaws, naming Much the Lord of Bonchurch and pardoning the others.

Then he turned to Collin's outlaws. "Collin, please pay attention. I am pardoning you and giving you back your lands. You are once more Lord Collin of Clunn." Collin thanked him with the signature, huge smile.

"Michael Dark. Just as Vaisey needed his Gisbourne, I too need a Master-at-Arms. In addition to this I am giving you the lands of Knighton." Michael nodded, looking bored as usual.

Thomas pardoned Kace and turned to his Artemis. "Artemis A'Dale. I, Sheriff Thomas of Nottingham, am pardoning you. Also…" Thomas knelt in front of Artemis. "Artemis A'Dale, you are the most beautiful person in Nottinghamshire. You are also strong, smart, kind, among other things. Will you marry me?" Thomas asked, brandishing a beautiful, elegant sapphire ring.

His Artemis gasped. She obviously was not expecting that. Neither were the other nobles or outlaws, apparently. They all looked shocked (except Michael, who wore his usual expression of boredom). Archer in particular. He had turned an odd shade of purple. It wasn't beautiful at all.

"Yes." His beautiful Artemis had agreed to marry him. He couldn't help but smile. Archer turned an even more interesting shade of purple.

Collin obviously felt the need to provide some comic relief. He began to clap. The nobles looked shocked.

"I have one more thing to do. Katherine?" the serving girl looked up. "Would you get James, please?"

The blonde girl nodded and skipped out. She returned a few minutes later with his brother; a small, black-haired fifteen year old that was dressed in servant's clothes.

"Yes, Sheriff Thomas?" the boy said quietly as Katherine slipped back into the seat next to Collin.

"This is James, my brother." There were gasps from around the room. A few notable reactions were Artemis's (she had already known; she didn't react much), Michael's (bored, as usual), and Collin's (he gasped loudly and pretended to faint). "I am gifting to him the lands of Locksley.

James's mouth dropped open. "B-but-"he stammered.

"James, shut up. I'm doing you a favor." Thomas didn't actually want to do this (he wanted only beautiful people on the council of nobles—he could get rid of Much and the annoying old people later), but Artemis liked James and he wanted her to love him.

Archer stood up. "I am the rightful Lord of Locksley." He growled.

"Well, that's really too bad now, isn't it?" Thomas yawned.

"Give me my land!"

"You have never expressed any interest in this property until this very instant." Thomas said mildly.

"Y'know, he 'as a point." Artemis said.

Archer glared at Thomas for a moment, then stormed out of the room.

"That was a twist in the plot I never would've expected!" Collin said brightly.

XxX

**And there's the end. The next chapter will give a brief paragraph on all everyone's future life. **


	9. The End

**This is The End. **

**Enjoy!**

XxX

_Thomas & Artemis_

Thomas and Artemis did get married. They had lived in Nottingham for seven months when Artemis discovered she was pregnant. When their dark-haired son was born, he was named Ezekiel. They had two more sons, both beautiful and black-haired, named Alexander and Nicholas.

_Collin & Katherine_

Collin proposed to the kitchen maid a few months after he got his lands back. She gladly accepted and they lived in Clunn together and had two children; a boy (Simon) and a girl (Juliana). Simon was a tall, light-haired lad with blue eyes. Juliana was on the shorter side, with a huge smile and long brown hair.

_Allan & Kate_

Allan made a good living off of his tavern and married Kate shortly after they were pardoned. They had one son; a boy they called Matthew.

_Michael_

Michael fell in love with the daughter of one of the other guards, a tiny girl of the name Cecilia. They had three children; two girls and a boy (Rose, Sibyl, and William). He never lost his bored expression.

_Kace_

Kace never married. Instead, he traveled around Europe and the Holy Land. He always came back to Nottingham with strange artifacts and news from Will and Djaq Scarlett. He did look after an English boy named Milo who craved adventure as much as he did.

_James_

James married a shy, orange-haired girl named Alice. He had two sons, which were named Isaac and Jacob.

_Everyone Else_

Everyone else had a wonderful life. Archer was never seen again, but other than that, everything was fine.

XxX

**And that's it.**

**The end. **

**My next story will not be in the Robin Hood category. It'll be a Mortal Instruments story. I'll still take Robin Hood oneshot requests (for other requests I'll take view my profile), but I just wanted to tell you my next multi-chapter story won't be Robin Hood.**

**Good-bye!**


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